Here's my transcription of Art Thieme's recording:

THE HANGING OF CHARLIE BIRGER
(Attributed to Carson Robison, As sung by Art Thieme)

I will tell you of a bandit
In a great midwestern state,
Who never learned his lesson
Until it was too late.
This man was bold and careless,
And the leader of his gang,
But boldness did not save him
When the law said, 'You must hang.'

This bandit's name was Birger;
He lived at Shady Rest,
The people learned to fear him
Throughout the Middle West.
It was out in old West City
Joe Adams was shot down,
Then the cry of justice said,
'The murderers must be found.'

Then Thomason was arrested,
He turned state's evidence.
Charlie Birger was found guilty,
For he had no defense.
He asked for a rehearing,
But this he was denied;
And in the county jailhouse
To take his life he tried.

On the 19th day of April
In 1928,
Away out west in Benton
Charlie Birger met his fate.
Another life is ended,
Another chapter done;
Another man who gambled
In the game that can't be won.

Oh, the Holy Bible shows us
The straight and narrow way,
And if we do not heed it
Sometime we'll have to pay.
We all must face the Master,
Our final trial to stand,
It's there we'll learn the meaning
Of houses built on sand.


from the Art Thieme LP, Songs of the Heartland

And I gotta say, the banjo playing on this recording is terrific.

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I also found this tidbit at Arnevet Beth Olam - St. Louis:

Shachna Itzik Birger (aka Charlie Birger) was born on February 5, 1881 in Lithuania. His family arrived in Glen Carbon, IL (near East St. Louis) when he was about 8 years old. After a stint in the army from 1901-1904, he returned to Illinois and became a miner and a saloon keeper. When Prohibition happened, he became a bootlegger in Southern Illinois.

As a bootlegger, one of his largest rivals was the local branch of the KKK, which actively supported prohibition, viewing alcohol as an evil allegedly introduced to the US by immigrants. Birger's gang, and a rival gang, The Shelton Brothers, managed to run the KKK out of town. After this success, though, the two gangs fought over who would control the bootlegging in the area.

In June of 1927, Birger was arrested for ordering the murder of a small town mayor named Joe Adams, in connection with his feud with The Shelton Brothers. April 19, 1928, Birger was the last man to be executed by a public hanging in the state of Illinois. Birger asked to be accompanied to the gallows by a Rabbi, and he asked to wear a black hood rather than a white one, so no one would mistake him for a Klansmnan. His final words were, "It's a beautiful world."

Shachna Itzik Birger is buried at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, in Section 28, 5th row, 3rd grave.

Arnevet Beth Olam - St. Louis
Charter Member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits
[Arnevet=Rabbit; Beth Olam=Cemetery]